


Wingman-ing

by DragonflyxParodies



Series: A Fable, Agreed Upon [3]
Category: Winx Club
Genre: Anti-wingman Darcy, Because They're Not Total Assholes, Dating, F/M, Gen, Helping Your Enemies, Mistaken Identity, Timmy Is a Force to be Reckoned With, Wingman Bloom, because she doesn't tolerate dumbasses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29490969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonflyxParodies/pseuds/DragonflyxParodies
Summary: Bloom helps Darcy out; so Darcy helps Bloom out. This has repercussions.
Relationships: Bloom & Brandon, Bloom & Darcy, Bloom & Flora & Musa & Stella & Tecna (Winx Club), Bloom & Timmy, Brandon & Riven & Sky & Timmy (Winx Club), Darcy/Riven (Winx Club), Sky & Stella (Winx Club), Timmy & Riven
Series: A Fable, Agreed Upon [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2165049
Comments: 10
Kudos: 48





	1. The Girls

She’s got an armful of fabric and just so happens to be dumping it all onto the poor cashier’s empty counter when a gloved hand slams onto the wood in front of her. Bloom stares down at it and then looks up, and it’s Darcy.

“I’ve been told you’re tolerable.” She says without preamble, and Bloom raises her eyebrows. Ignores the tense, frightened silence that’s descended over every visible corner of the store.

That café? The one where she met Stormy? Is apparently one of the few places where witches and fairies intermingling doesn’t catch eyes. Bloom’s become increasingly aware of the – social, class, whatever politics of Magix. And she’s learned ignoring it is the best way to cope, as much as that _burns_ her.

“That’s…a ringing endorsement.”

“You should be flattered.” Darcy deadpans. Bloom _is_ , not that she’s going to say that. Darcy’s perfectly painted lips twist into a sneer, and so she assumes she doesn’t _have_ to say it. Mind magic or whatever, right.

She hasn’t actually spent time with Darcy yet. She lingers in the background of Icy’s calls sometimes, and sometimes shows up to collect Stormy at the end of their sessions, but they haven’t… _interacted_.

“What do you need?” She asks, and wiggles out her credit card as the cashier finishes cramming her fabrics into a plastic bag.

“…First. What are you _doing_.”

“I’m an art geek. I make things. Fabric here is weird and on sale, and I want to _experiment_. Tecna’s gonna help me.”

Stella had offered, right up until she’d seen the designs Bloom had sketched out, and then quietly noped her way out. Stella has impeccable fashion sense; that means she’s something of a snob. This means that Bloom is relieved Stella’s recused herself – _fashionable_ isn’t the intent, and so she doesn’t need to hear critiques every ten seconds. Once she’s finished experimenting, it’s fair game – but until then, Stella’s gone.

“Make things like…?”

Bloom tugs at her jacket shoulder without thinking, waiting for the cash register to finish processing her card, and Darcy’s eyebrows climb sky-high.

“What the hell is that _made_ of?”

“Denim.” She says, and then accepts her bag with a smile and lets Darcy start trying to nudge her out the door without actually touching her. The shop seems to breathe a sigh of relief once they’re gone.

“…Right. Well. _I_ want Tall, Dark, and Brooding.”

“… _Riven?”_

“It’s his aura.” Darcy says like that’s supposed to explain anything, and okay, well, maybe it does.

Riven’s a dick, but he’s not really an _ass_. He’s…careful, sometimes. About what he says. So – she could see how that’d be appealing to another absolute douchebag.

“I need you to know that I have never met anyone who screams _disaster bi_ more than him.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

That stops her cold.

“Do you not have…like…is Magix homophobic?”

Bloom is genuinely – shocked. She hasn’t even _thought_ of…

“Not technically. A couple of the Realms are. What’s that got to do with anything?” Darcy asks impatiently, and – wow. Okay. That’s…a relief.

Probably the rainbows on her backpack don’t make sense here, she realizes, and that’s kind of…painful.

“Okay but homophobic like ew, or homophobic like murder?”

_“What?_ ”

“’Cuz on Earth it varies from like, I swear, street to street.” She’s not joking. Her mother’s shop is on a street with a queer bookstore and an adult store; the block over is a place she’s not allowed to walk even in _daytime_ , not after Mitzi had outed her in middle school, not even with her shiny new pepper spray and absolutely-illegal taser stuffed into her pockets. Gardenia is many things; a small conservative city chief among them.

“And you just – put _up_ with it?”

“So not murder.”

“No!”

_Interesting_.

Something jabs her _brain_ , and Bloom narrows her eyes and turns to actually look at the witch. She looks entirely unrepentant, but it feels like she’s got a _brain freeze_ now and –

“Focus. Your fucked up planet aside, what about Tall, Dark and Brooding?”

“Wear some fuck-you heels and beat the shit out of him at something and he’ll literally drool over you.” Bloom says, because – well. Darcy seems like the kind of girl who Riven would _like_.

“I’m serious.” Darcy says sharply.

“So am I. The – Darcy, _everybody_ thinks someone who can kill them without trying is hot. That’s like, your whole _thing_ at Cloud Tower, that’s not a turn off.”

“Sweetie. You’re from fucking _Earth_. There’s real prejudice against witches – “

She considers, for a moment, not doing something stupid. But. Theoretically, this should be _fine_. And Darcy seems to think she’s been flippant or something, because she’s getting angry.

So – she thinks as hard as she can about game night last weekend, about Musa casting every silencing spell she knew over their dorm and the boys still managing to almost get them caught because Riven brought a fucking _vape_ , about Timmy setting up enough weird magic-world game consoles and screens to fill a store, about how excited Tecna had been to hook Bloom’s own Earth system up with her power, and how hard she’d laughed, how she’d choked on the pop Sky had snuck in and then again on the popcorn _she’d_ made, when Riven’s eyes had all but bugged out of his face when the villainess of her favorite horror game had finally made an appearance.

He’s got a _thing_ for dangerous ladies. Darcy is. _Literally_. A dangerous lady.

She throws the memory at Darcy. Or tries to. The witch jerks, sharp and sudden, and then folds her arms across her chest.

“How’d you do that?”

“Icy gives me homework. And anyway – some of our spells are the same as yours, just…modified weirdly.” Also, memories are _easy_. Bloom’s done enough reading on the theory _behind_ memory manipulation to be very concerned about the fact that its so effortless for her, but that’s not something she’s worrying about. Today is a _break day_.

“…You don’t think he’ll care?” Darcy finally grinds out. Bloom shakes her head as she readjusts the bag in her grip. It’s a little heavier than expected.

“I think he’ll like you. That’s why I’m helping. But the witch thing? No. He’s kind of an edgelord and perpetually terrified of giving Brandon a chance to call him a little bitch and not be wrong.”

He’s the only normal one, him and Timmy. Brandon and Sky are nice and all, but they’ve got – _weird_ hang-ups. She assumes it’s a magic realm thing, but it’s – off-putting. Timmy and Riven are _normal_. Remind her of home. They’ve both been to Earth, previously, too. Timmy for the gaming scene, Riven because Red Fountain has a buddy system for off-world activities.

“So if _I_ were to call him a little bitch…”

“They’ll be in town for that race thing. The boys are all participating, I think, but Riven’s really excited about it.” Bloom offers, and ignores the considering look on Darcy’s face. She doesn’t know if Riven’s into that, and she doesn’t want to know. She especially doesn’t want to know if _Darcy_ is into that.

Darcy’s grin is near demonic.

“A _race_ you say.”

Bloom takes that as her cue to leave, and chirps out an absurdly bright _bye_ before turning on her heel and booking it to the nearest bus stop.

X

Darcy repays the favor with a hand on her shoulder and a roll of her eyes, a _you know he’s lying right_ and the feeling of her stomach’s bottom dropping out. She says his name and keeps walking and doesn’t look back and Bloom closes her eyes and remembers how to breathe.

He’s not with them, neither of them are, when she makes it back to the group. Tecna catches sight of her and frowns.

“Are you okay, Bloom?”

She swallows, hard, and shakes her head. Tecna’s skin is cold and too firm, but she lets the other fairy press her against her side without complaint.

“What happened?” It’s Timmy who asks, and Bloom has to swallow back bile before she says anything.

“Did you know they’re lying?”

“Who?” He asks, and his confusion is genuine, and that’s – that makes it _worse_.

“Brandon and Sky. Or – Sky and Brandon.”

Tecna’s eyes shutter for a moment. It’s strange to see, but the look of pure horror on her face a second later is enough to wipe that thought from Bloom’s mind, and –

“Oh my _realms_ , they did – Bloom, I am _so_ sorry, where is Stella? We need to – “

Musa finds them an instant later, Flora in tow, and Timmy is screeching at his phone in disbelief and it’s genuinely one of the worst nights of her life, but Flora is there to hold her and Musa disappears for twenty minutes and comes back with a case of faun-brewed beer she says will help and they manage to find Stella just before she goes to meet Sky – Brandon? – and –

She would’ve found out eventually, even without Darcy’s help. Magic knock-off Google is shittier and nowhere near as intuitive as Earth’s version, and she’s been focusing on Alfea and Magix in her research, but she would’ve looked eventually, even just out of curiosity – she wants to know what her friends’ homeworlds look like.

She tells them who told her. And shrugs when they ask why, and then hesitates, and then hesitates again and says she’ll tell them in the morning, because Tecna is literally sparking she’s so angry and Stella’s kind of mute with shock and Timmy’s already smashed his phone and apologized and asked them to please not say anything because he needs to go find Riven and figure out how they’re going to beat Sky and Brandon – Brandon and Sky – into smithereens for this, and they all agree.

It’s just – a lot.

A _lot_ a lot.

Something cold touches her hand, and Bloom starts. It’s Musa, with a beer.

“C’mon girl. We don’t have class tomorrow. We’re gonna get wasted, and then plan our revenge, and then when Riven and Timmy give us the okay we’re gonna blast those assholes sky-high.”

“At this point it’s not revenge, Musa. It’s _justice_.” Flora says hotly, and – Bloom lets out a watery laugh, and cracks the can open.

They get Stella to mash herself on their laps about twenty minutes later, and Bloom falls asleep with her head spinning and Stella’s hair soft beneath her fingers.


	2. The Boys

Riven hasn’t snuck back into Red Fountain this late since he was a freshbaby and was so wasted he tripped over air and sent his dorm key flying into the gryphon pens, but he’s got much more experience and sobriety under his belt this time and he manages to avoid any other late-nighters right up until he reaches the door of his dorm and damn near smashes into Timmy, who materializes out of _thin fucking air_.

He can still smell Darcy’s perfume in the air around him and he _swears_ he’s still got her lipstick on his mouth and he’s riding such a high after that date – the best damn date he’s _ever_ been on – that he doesn’t do much more than hiss as Timmy crowds him away from the dorm and shoves something in his face. This is not necessarily alarming behavior from the nerd.

When the screen lights up, it’s so blinding that Riven’s eyes water on instinct. But it illuminates Timmy’s face, and any complaint he could muster dies on his tongue.

Timmy looks _pissed_. _Pissed_ pissed. And Timmy doesn’t _get_ pissed, except for that incident last year with the upperclassman and –

“Dude, you okay? The fuck happened?”

And then he freezes, because his eyes focus on the screen mashed against his nose and –

“I was with the girls and Bloom came back all upset, she said one of the witches warned her. So Tecna searched it up, because we had no idea why she was upset, and –“

His brain feels like molasses, but he’s worked through enough of his shock to let out a noise that shuts Timmy right up.

“Sky’s _engaged_.”

“That’s mostly why I’m pissed. I get the security bullshit. But – “

Holy shit, he realizes. The girls _hadn’t known_.

He’d been operating under the assumption that Stella knew. Her and Sky – Brandon? –‘s relationship had always seemed so casual, and Stella was royalty herself, and he’d just – he’d thought they were playing around together, because Sky certainly never talked about his fiancée. But this is – this means _Brandon_ is the one who was engaged, and who’s been trying desperately to get Bloom to go out with him since they first met on Earth, and he’s been _very_ clear he wants a _real_ relationship, and he’s been _engaged_ , and –

Riven’s kind of a piece of shit, he’s made his peace with that. But he wouldn’t _cheat_. And here are two of his best friends, two of his _only_ friends, and –

“Where are the girls?” He asks, because they _definitely_ shouldn’t be left alone after this, and holy _hell_ are they going to have their hands full with murder attempts in the next few days.

“Alfea. Musa bought drinks, and they’re – taking a night in. I asked them to wait until I’d had a chance to talk to you before they do anything to S—to the others.”

“They didn’t even scrub it off the _internet?_ ”

Timmy sighs, and finally drops the holo-screen. Rubs a hand over his face, and looks so fucking _tired_ –

“Hey, dude. It’ll – look, whatever happens, you got me.”

Timmy sags against his side, and Riven puts an arm around his – well. _Brother_. Timmy’s been introducing them as family since the year started. Riven’s been making fun of it, but…he’s not _wrong_. They’re intended to work together for _life_ , after all.

Except two of their number are – Riven stops that thought immediately because he’s breaking out in chills and this is going to trigger him _so fucking hard_.

The girls will let him hide in their dorm. That’s a plus. That’s…a plan. He’s just gotta – stick it out until he can dip, he guesses. He’ll bring Timmy.

“What do you want to do?” Timmy asks quietly. Without the phone there to light them up, the whole hall is dark and kind of uncomfortable. Riven’s tired, more tired than he thinks he’s ever been in his life, but –

“At the very least, the girls deserve a chance to bitch them out as soon as possible. And if Stella and Bloom ditched them, they’ll start bugging the girls as soon as they wake up. So. We should do it now.” He hates the words as they come out of his mouth.

He gets a disgusted sigh for an answer, but he feels Timmy nod against his shoulder and then Timmy pushes off and starts _marching_ towards the dorm, and Riven shoves his hands in his pockets and follows.

Timmy likes to start bar fights, when they go out. He’s got his bar fight swagger on right now. Riven’s going to stick to backup, because Timmy _never_ loses a fight and Timmy’s more pissed than he is and it’s what he usually does anyway and he’s not sure he can handle much more than that.

Sky and Brandon are still up, seated around the table in their common room – Sky perched on top of it, Brandon sprawled in one of the chairs – chatting. Riven closes the door behind him and flips the deadbolt. Unlike Alfea, the Red Fountain dorms come _equipped_ with sound-proofing spells. Squads tend to beat the shit out of each other, apparently, and pranks almost always go a little too far, and unlike Alfea, the professors at Red Fountain don’t care to hear all the goings-on of their students. There aren’t any blushing virgins _here_ , Riven thinks uncharitably, and then has to force himself to focus.

“Shit, you two are back late. Have a good night?” Sky – Brandon? _Fucking hell –_ asks like he’s not a total piece of shit, and Riven raises both his eyebrows because Timmy takes that opportunity to sock him right in the face. Not the nose; nothing broken here. Just hard enough to bruise like a bitch, and also knock said bitch off the table. He lets out a low whistle of appreciation, and it pulls Timmy up short when the nerd goes to follow up on the hit.

“Timmy! What the _fuck –_ “

“Shut the fuck up and _sit down_ , _Sky_.” Riven barks at – well. The _real_ Sky, halfway out of his chair and looking so outraged it’s almost comical. What _is_ comical is the way he freezes, the way the _real_ Brandon goes rigid on the table. How the _fuck_ they’d managed to keep this under wraps so long given the sheer number of times _Riven_ has screamed for one of them in the general direction of _both_ of them, let alone their professors or fellow students…

He’s – he’s not the center of the issue here, which he’s fine with, but that doesn’t stop the betrayal, the rage, crawling over his shoulders and up his throat thick enough to choke.

“You _lied_ to us.” Timmy says, and the nerd’s voice is sharp and angry and doesn’t crack at all, because Timmy’s a scary motherfucker when he wants to be and also he’s trying not to shout because shouting makes him cry.

Riven shrugs his jacket off and kicks his boots off while Sky and Brandon or _whatever the fuck their names are_ , he’s just _assumed_ they switched, stare between him and Timmy with faces so pale they look like ghosts.

They’ve got a little kitchenette in their common room. Riven digs out one of Sky – Brandon? –‘s noodle cups and goes about preparing it while his friends remain frighteningly tense and quiet behind him.

“Stella’s parents are getting a divorce _because her father’s a cheating piece of shit_. It’s going to destabilize the entire Solarian government. And _Bloom_ – you were one of the first people she _trusted_ here! She can’t even – and you _lied!_ You used them! You used _us!_ ”

The microwave dings, and Riven pulls out his cup and ignores the ache in his eyes as he jams a fork into it.

He’d expected Timmy to forget about – himself, about Riven, about the hurt this has done to them. It’s probably a good thing that he didn’t, though the fact that he even _mentioned_ them doesn’t bode well for how badly he’s hurting. Riven uses his friends as a gauge, and he’s perfectly willing to cope to that. The more upset Timmy is, the more upset Riven’s supposed to be. The more excited Sky gets, the more vehemently Riven’s gotta tell him no. The more certain Brandon is, the more confident Riven can be.

Except that’s all wrong, now.

“You told Bloom?” Brandon – _Sky_ , the _real_ Sky – asks, and Sky, the _fake_ Sky, cringes. Riven catalogues that like a desperate man, because remorse means his whole fucking world might not crumple down around him, and that’s –

Well.

“No, _she_ told _us_. And you’re fucking _lucky_ you didn’t put us in that position, because I’d be burying you right now if you had.” Riven says.

Fake Sky opens his mouth, still cradling his face where Timmy punched him, and then cuts a glance to Fake Brandon and closes it. Fake Brandon looks _pissed_.

Fake Brandon is better at armed combat than them. Not at hand-to-hand. Riven catches the thought, and the disposable cup in his hand crumples. Soup and noodles go all over his riding suit which is a shit thing but he just – they’re not – _they’re not supposed to be threats_ , and –

“That isn’t your place!” Fake Brandon snaps. Riven lets the mess in his hand hit the ground, because he’s already slamming a fist into the jackass’s stomach hard enough to make the fucker double over. Riven keeps one hand fisted in Brandons’ shirt, over his shoulder. To keep him down.

“I am fucking exhausted right now. I don’t have the energy to deal with this, _jackass_. You _lied_ to me. If I don’t go and request a transfer in the morning, you’d best get down on your _fucking knees_ and pray. You _lied_.”

Over a _year_. Over a _year_ and neither of them had come forward and maybe there’s good reason for lying to everyone else but to _them_? And about the fucking _engagement?_

“And if you think I won’t throw down for the girls _after what you did to them_ , you’re fucking wrong. You’re _engaged_ , you absolute piece of shit.”

He’s gonna have to talk to her. The fiancée. Some uppity rich asshole, who absolutely doesn’t deserve Brandon fucking around behind her back even if she _wants_ the marriage, and it’s –

_Sky._ He’s not Brandon, he’s _Sky_.

There’s a hand tugging at his arm. Riven realizes his nails have been digging into flesh and there’s blood and – he lets go. Lets Timmy pull him back a little.

“Do you want to – “

“No.” He says, interrupts. Timmy’s shaking a little. But he nods, and starts pulling Riven towards their room.

When he’d finally caved and stopped bitching about being stuck with a squad, when he’d finally stopped snapping and started talking, he’d _told_ them lying was off the table. Hadn’t explained why. Hadn’t had to, with Timmy. And those two had looked him in the eye, all serious and solemn and said yeah, of course, sure, _never_ , when he hadn’t even known their fucking _names_.

“Where are you going?!” Brandon – _Sky_. The real Sky – asks, and he sounds – angry. Like he has any right to be. Riven thinks its pretty fucking obvious what’s going on, but –

“We’ll – I’ll be here in the morning. If you…want to talk.” Fake Sky says. Brandon, maybe. He’s not angry, not like Real Sky. Still nursing his bruise, eyes pinned on the floor. Timmy hesitates a moment, and then gives a curt nod. Riven says nothing.

When their door closes behind them, they both sink to the ground where they’re standing. Riven lifts an arm on autopilot and Timmy mashes himself there and.

“If you do leave. I – I’ll go with you.” Timmy says quietly, voice unsteady and trembling. Riven slams his eyes shut but it’s too late because now his face is all hot and wet and _fuck_.

“Other than – did you have a good night?”

“I asked Tecna out. For – for real. We didn’t get to plan anything, but…”

“Congrats.” He says, and as hollow and unenthusiastic as he sounds, he means it.

“What about you?” Timmy asks softly, and then wriggles free just so he can mash one of his cold, pointy little fingers to Riven’s neck and –

“Her name’s Darcy. She’s a witch. Bloom said she’s cool. She is.”

“That…sounds like a mess. But – congrats.”

Riven can’t help the wheeze of absolute horror that he lets out, because realization bitch-slaps him across the face and he can’t handle much more of this but _fuck_ tomorrow is going to _suck_ –

“What?”

“Bloom’s – she’s been hanging out with them witches? Because Alfea’s doctoring their lessons.”

“…Is she gonna – _oh_ that’s why – well, we’re going to stop by tomorrow afternoon. She’ll probably tell us then.”

“The fuck you mean _we_?” Riven asks, but there’s no heat to it, and Timmy lets out a watery laugh. Looks half distracted by the extra mystery already, which…well, that’s something. Something good, he thinks.

Timmy starts rambling about it, voice soft and soothing as he scrambles around for the nearest electronic. He keeps the light down to its nighttime cycles, just bright enough to give the shape of things a vague outline. The asshole still plants himself on Riven’s bed, but that’s what Riven gets for mentioning nerd stuff, so.

He doesn’t think he’ll sleep, not really, but with the nerd rambling and his bony elbows jammed up against Riven’s back, his eyes drift shut of their own accord.

And even the angry hush of voices outside their door can’t keep him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riven + Timmy are roommates, and got to do all the Mandatory Bonding Time activities together before getting partnered with Sky and Brandon, so they're p fucking close here.
> 
> Timmy is not, technically, as terrifying as Riven makes him out to be; Riven's biased. But that does not mean Timmy can't handle his shit, and Riven refuses to be Group Mom, so Timmy's gotta pick up the slack. Over in Alfea, Flora is Empathizing.
> 
> And; Sky and Brandon are gonna have to deal w/the repercussions of their actions. I want to make it clear that like, neither of them are getting shit on here. But they've got a lot of work to do both on themselves and their loved ones to get back to where things were.
> 
> Final note; ofc darcy is going to be fucking ecstatic that this caused such a shit show she thought it was like a hey go do better boo thing not an Imploding All Your Enemies Emotionally thing. And then she realizes she actually really does like Riven and he's upset about and She Has Regrets.

**Author's Note:**

> i had a brain worm and could not get it out of my head.


End file.
